New Orleans (March 31, 2012)— The John R. Wooden Award®, the preeminent men’s collegiate basketball player of the year award, was presented today on ESPN by Coach John Wooden’s grandson, Greg, on behalf of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, to University of Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis. Greg Wooden made the announcement on College GameDay and presented Davis with the Wooden Award Trophy whose unique design was inspired by Coach Wooden’s idea of the “total basketball player.” The 36th Annual Wooden Award Gala, honoring Davis and the entire Wooden All American Team, will take place Friday April 6 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

A 6-10 forward, Davis earned college basketball’s most prestigious honor after an outstanding freshman season in which he averages 14.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks. He shoots 64.2 percent from the field and has recorded 19 double-doubles. He has led his team to a 36-2 overall record, tonight’s Final Four matchup with Louisville, and an undefeated Southeastern Conference season. He is the second freshman to win the Wooden Award; Texas’ Kevin Durant won in 2007.

A native of Chicago, Davis is the first Kentucky player to win the Wooden Award, and also the first Southeastern Conference player to be honored. Davis was the SEC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year. John Wall of Kentucky was a Wooden Award finalist in 2010 and was joined on the Wooden All American team by DeMarcus Cousins.
 
Voters include hundreds of national college basketball media who selected and ranked 10 players. Davis had 3,350 points, outdistancing second-place finisher Thomas Robinson of Kansas (3,017). Rounding out the top five were Draymond Green of Michigan State (2,825), Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger (2,425), and Tyler Zeller of North Carolina (1,793). The ten-player All American team also included in alphabetical order Isaiah Canaan, Murray State; Jae Crowder, Marquette; Marcus Denmon, Missouri; Kevin Jones, West Virginia; and Doug McDermott, Creighton.

All-time John R. Wooden Award Winners

1977 ​Marques Johnson – ​University of California, Los Angeles

1978 ​Phil Ford – ​University of North Carolina

1979 ​Larry Bird – ​Indiana State University

1980 ​Darrell Griffith – ​University of Louisville

1981 ​Danny Ainge – ​Brigham Young University

1982 ​Ralph Sampson – ​University of Virginia

1983 ​Ralph Sampson – ​University of Virginia

1984 ​Michael Jordan​ – University of North Carolina

1985 ​Chris Mullin – ​Saint John’s University

1986 ​Walter Berry – ​Saint John’s University

1987 ​David Robinson​ – United States Naval Academy

1988 ​Danny Manning​ – University of Kansas

1989​Sean Elliott​ – University of Arizona

1990 ​Lionel Simmons – ​La Salle University

1991 ​Larry Johnson​ – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

1992 ​Christian Laettner​ – Duke University

1993 ​Calbert Cheaney – ​Indiana University

1994​Glenn Robinson – ​Purdue University

1995 ​Ed O’Bannon – ​University of California, Los Angeles

1996 ​Marcus Camby​ – University of Massachusetts

1997 ​Tim Duncan​ – Wake Forest University

1998 ​Antawn Jamison – ​University of North Carolina

1999 ​Elton Brand​ – Duke University

2000 ​Kenyon Martin​ – University of Cincinnati

2001 ​Shane Battier – ​Duke University​

2002 ​Jason Williams – ​Duke University

2003​ T.J. Ford – ​University of Texas

2004 ​Jameer Nelson – ​St. Joseph’s

2005​Andrew Bogut – ​University of Utah

2006​ J.J. Redick – ​Duke University

2007​ Kevin Durant​ – University of Texas

2008 ​Tyler Hansbrough – ​University of North Carolina

2009 ​Blake Griffin​ – University of Oklahoma

2010 ​Evan Turner​ – Ohio State University

2011 ​Jimmer Fredette​ – Brigham Young University

2012 ​Anthony Davis​ – University of Kentucky

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